Reaching For The Lightning
by LOLChanny819
Summary: This is where it ends and begins and rewinds and fast forwards and continues. This is where the credits roll. And so the lightning flashes one more time. The movie's over.


**Disclaimer: Ugh. Why does this always happen? I don't own Sonny with a Chance. Haven't I said it enough? I don't own the song Desperate by David Archuleta either.**

**Okay, huggables. I am so incredibly sorry for not updating, but I just did! I just had no idea what to do next. Now I feel so good though! But I got through the Sonny part, and I always find it easier to write Chad over in Australia. I hope I didn't lose everyone. I'm dedicating this to xxFrostedTeardropxx, because she means a lot to me and yesterday was the last day I'll ever hear from her. So…this is for her. **** Plus, I keep listening to Desperate by David Archuleta, so I wanted to write something based on it. I hope this doesn't stink!**

Reaching For The Lightning

She lay on the cold cement, tears running down her cheeks as the rain poured down all around her. This was it. There was nothing left for her. There was no one left for her to call her own, and there never would be. So this was the end. She wasn't moving, and soon the cold would do away with her.

As thunder boomed and lightning flashed closer and closer to her, she shut her eyes tight, laughing a little. Maybe this was the relief she really needed. It was just so hard lately. She couldn't look at anyone anymore. Not after she had lost everything that ever meant anything to her.

Suddenly, she heard the pounding of feet on wet pavement and looked up just in time to feel a warm, living, breathing body slam into her, practically suffocating her in a hug. "Sonny, I'm here. God, I thought I'd be too late. Are you insane? _Suicidal_?" She recognized the tenor voice of Chad Dylan Cooper and laughed bitterly.

Sitting up a little and pulling away from him, she smiled, pure exuberance in her eyes. "Don't you get it, Chad? This is it. This is everything I could have asked for. And after tonight I won't feel this way anymore. After tonight, I'm free. I'm not crazy, I'm right!"

He shook his head, his blue eyes seeming to pop in the murky night air as lightning flashed again, closer yet again. "No, Sonny. This isn't the answer. Look, I know nothing's been the same since the accident, but you can't leave us. You just _can't_."

She smiled again, resting her palm on his cheek. "Chad, you're wrong. You wouldn't get it, but this is the answer. This where it ends and begins and starts over and continues. This where the credits roll. And when this is over, I'm free. The accident won't matter anymore. I won't be alone anymore."

He shook his head at her again. "The credits roll? I don't think so. Don't you know what needs to happen before the credits? You were never alone, Sonny. And I need to prove that to you." Without hesitation, he smashed his lips against hers, showing her every emotion he had ever felt.

She could feel his panic, his lust, his anger, his heartbreak, his love, and most of all, his insecurity. She could feel that this was real. She felt it, and, for a brief second, she was alive again. So she kissed him back.

He pulled her closer, ignoring the thunder around them. "Sonny, I can't do this without you. Either you come back with me or I go with you." Looking into his eyes, she knew he wasn't lying. This was the hardest ultimatum she had ever encountered.

Staring straight through his eyes into his soul, she bit her lip. "I…I don't know, Chad. Going back to normal, it just…doesn't seem possible." She felt him shake with fear but knew he would be true to his word. He wasn't going anywhere, no matter how much she begged him to. So she didn't.

Smiling softly, he held her in his arms as lightning flashed again even closer. "I'm not going to leave you. If this is your choice, then I'm choosing it with you. I told you Sonny, I won't live without you."

She looked back into his eyes, searching. Could she really make him stay here with her? Whatever she chose would not only be making or breaking her own life, but _his_ too. And she didn't have much time. The lightning was getting closer and closer. And suddenly, she knew. "Chad, you can't stay here. You have a whole life ahead of you. You have meaning, and power, and dedication. You need to stay here. I can't."

He shook his head, keeping his arms firmly around her as the thunder reverberated in their ears. "Not going to happen. It's now or never, Sonny. We only have a minute or two left. We can go back. No one ever has to know about this. Sonny, you know your mom wouldn't have wanted this."

She looked down because he was right. "But…Chad. The accident…it took her away from me. I'm all alone. And I can't do it. I need to be with her and my dad. They want me there, too. They miss me, and I can't breathe without them next to me."

He looked at her, hesitating. Finally, he nodded. "You're not giving this up. And neither am I. So…before we go, because I seriously doubt we have more than a minute left, I need to tell you something. Sonny…I…love you." He said it with all of the passion he could muster, because this truly was where the credits rolled.

She hugged him, feeling the water from the rain pelting her face. "I love you, too, Chad. And you need to go. Please. I'm begging you." It wasn't his time. Not yet.

His eyes widened. "No. Sonny, I can't. I won't. You don't get it. You're the only reason I'm still around today. Without you, I wouldn't be here right now."

Her eyes widened at what he was implying as he raised his arm and pulled down one sleeve where a single silvery scar lingered on his wrist. "Chad…" So maybe he wasn't who everyone thought. Somehow, his imperfections just made her love him more.

He looked deep into her eyes, nodding. "I tried to off myself two years ago, a month before you came to the studio. To this day, only my mom and I know. It's not something I tell people."

She looked down, tracing the scar gently as the lightning lit it up, casting shadows around them. "Why'd you do it? What happened? I mean…"

He chuckled a little, watching her hand dance across his wrist. "Same reason as you. I couldn't handle being alone anymore. My mom was depressed after my dad died. I didn't have anyone. When she saw me lying there…it was a wake up call for her. But right now, seeing you here, I'm glad she found me laying there."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes, a small smile forming on her face. "Goodbye, Cooper. Please."

Biting his lip, Chad looked down. "I don't think I can go. Not without you. I need you to keep me whole."

She shook her head. "No. You need to be there so your mom has something worth living for. I'll see you someday, I promise. Just…go. And remember me. I promise I'm better off here."

Chad took a deep breath, slowly standing up. "I don't want to do this. To leave you. But Sonny…do me a favor. Tell my dad I said hi." He kissed her briefly before walking away, turning around once more to say, "I love you. For always."

She nodded. "I love you too." And then, as he turned back around, the lightning flashed one more time. And then she was gone. A piece of the wind. A figment of memory. And most importantly, a shadow brought by the spirit of the lightning. For always.

_You want somebody, just anybody,_

_To bring some peace to your soul tonight…_

**I wrote this in like twenty minutes and just let it flow out of me. So if this is awful, that's why. Sorry. I think it's bad, but I felt like I needed to write it, so I'll post it anyway. I hope it wasn't as bad as I thought! SMILES!**

**LOL**


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